It's
a long way from a dugout at Miami-Dade Community College North as a kid to the
American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. But LSU coach Paul Mainieri
can't imagine a more satisfying journey between those two points than the one
he's been on the last

On
Friday, Mainieri completed the second step when he became the second Tigers'
coach and 10th SEC head man to be inducted.

Mainieri,
who begins his eighth season at LSU when practice begins later this month, is
also the second half of the first father-son duo enshrined by the ABCA. His
father, Demie "Doc" Mainieri was inducted in 1988. Doc Mainieri spent 30
seasons at Miami-Dade where he won 1,012 games and the 1964 NJCAA national
crown, and his son was already around the team and told his father at a young
age that he wanted to coach.

In his first seven seasons running the Tigers' program, Mainieri
is 315-133-2 with a national championship in 2009, two other College World
Series appearances (2008, 2013), two overall SEC crowns, three West Division
titles and four conference tournament championships. He ranks second in school
history in wins behind Skip Bertman (870-330-3),
a 2003 ABCA inductee.

Overall, Mainieri is 1,179-625-7 in 31 seasons with previous
stops at St. Thomas University (1984-88), Air Force (1989-94) and Notre Dame
(1995-2006). He is one of only six active coaches to have won 1,000 games and
an NCAA national championship.

"It was never my goal
to be selected for this wonderful honor, being inducted into the American
Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame," Mainieri said in a statement
released by LSU this week. "When I decided to go into coaching as a young man,
it was simply with the purpose of helping young people develop their God-given
talents to the fullest, and teaching them how to succeed in baseball and in
life.

Demie 'Doc' Mainieri

"My father taught me
this lesson and it has been my guiding light throughout my career. I never
thought that 31 years later I would have had the opportunities I have had to
coach at four amazing institutions - St. Thomas University, the United States
Air Force Academy, Notre Dame and LSU."

"You
thing you get those kind of things when a long career ends not when you have a
decade or so left," Mainieri said. "When these things happen or you have a
milestone victory, you pause and reflect on your whole career and the great
kids you've coached and the great people who have worked with you and it's kind
of embarrassing that so much attention is falling on me alone because it's always
been a collective effort."

He
echoed those sentiments this week.

"There have been so many people that have been a part of my life
and my career along the way," Mainieri said in the LSU statement. "Without
them, nothing would have been possible. I have had the privilege of coaching so
many tremendous young men, have been aided by many wonderful assistant coaches,
had so much help from talented support staff, and always experienced the best
of administrative support. All of the people that have influenced me and
contributed to these programs for the past 30 years are a part of this
tremendous honor."

The influences Mainieri values the most
include his college coach, UNO legend Ron Maestri (1991 inductee), longtime Los
Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda (inducted into the National Baseball Hall
of Fame in 1997) and former Chicago Cubs General manager Jim Hendry.

"I'm
very honored to be in the hall of fame at all, but the thing I'm most happy is
about is that my father is able to live this with me," Mainieri said last January.
"He's meant so much to me as a person and in my professional life."

Before
coming back to LSU, where Mainieri was a freshman infielder in 1976, he led
Notre Dame to 533 wins and the 2002 CWS, that program's first since 1957.

He
is also in the St. Thomas Hall of Fame and was the first civilian baseball
coach at Air Force. Mainieri was joined by six other inductees in the 2014
class, including two college coaches still in the dugout: Clemson's Jack
Leggett and Pete Dunn of Stetson.

The
only four other active coaches in the ABCA Hall are Mike Martin of Florida
State, Mark Marquess of Stanford, Mike Gillespie of UC Irvine and John Anderson
of Minnesota. Mainieri beat Martin's Seminoles to get to the 2002 CWS and the
Tigers roared back to defeat Gillispie's Anteaters in the 2008 Super Regional
Round.

To
gain induction into the ABCA Hall, a coach must be on 75% of the 19 voters'
ballots.